At Times I feel like Satan is out to get my quiet times with God. Actually, not only do I feel this, but I believe that it is true. There is spiritual warfare going on that we can not even begin to imagine. We do have an enemy of our souls. I believe that Satan has been out to get my quiet times. Most of the time the strategy is to get me distract by my sin or my to do list that I do not make time for reading my Bible and prayer.

The strategy however changes and it is time for Plan B when I do sit down with my Bible to intentionally spend time with my Savior. That is when the distractions come. Today it was my mom cleaning the house and becoming frustrated with the lack of initiative family members were displaying when it came to cleaning and keeping the house tidy. Usually, I would just leave the room to try to finish my Bible study. After all that is what I sat down to do. I set aside this time for that purpose. The end result is usually frustration. I get frustrated because I am not effectively able to focus and my mom is frustrated by the lack of help.

So today I decided to put down my Bible, notebook, and Beth Moore’s Patriarchs study. With a cheerful heart I began doing what I could do to help straighten up the house. And then when I didn’t see anything more to do at the moment, I sat back down to continue my time with the Lord.

This action created an entirely different result than at other times. No one was frustrated and I discovered a gem I may have otherwise overlooked. Towards the end of today’s lesson in my Beth Moore study I cam across this verse:

Matthew 5:23-24 “Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to your brother; then come and offer your gift.”

I was offering my gift to God of time, prayer and study and yet there was an “offense” brought to mind. What a blessing it was to return to the altar of my Lord with a clear conscience! And I thank the Lord for this gem of truth he blessed me with today.

Photo found: FreeFoto.com

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I fell in love with this ingenious advent calendar when I ran across it. Unfortunately it is too late to make for friends as an advent calendar, but you could still make it as an easy Christmas gift. Or, bookmark it for next year.

Yes, I think I am back to blogging. A new layout, Now Reading plugin added, and my first Saturday Link post back up. I may not be posting everyday, but I will at least be trying to post regularly. Have a very merry holiday season!